Running a Summit for your online business can be very exciting. It can also be overwhelming. With so many moving parts to track, thinking through the pieces before you get started can be a critical part in making your Summit a success.
Here are five areas to think about when planning your next Summit:
- Plan your web pages. There are many web pages needed for a summit. The first one is the opt in page to draw people in so they sign up, followed by a thank you page giving them all the information they need. You’ll also want a page for each speaker with their image, biography, and their topic. During the summit, a replay page is important so that your audience can watch any interviews they might have missed or want to see again. When the summit is over, I recommend a page offering people a chance to purchase lifetime access to all the informative content you have provided.
- Create Social Media Posts. In order to have your promotion be consistent and powerful, it’s important to have images and social media text for posts ready for your speakers to use when sharing about your summit. A best practice is customizing them for each speaker with their head shot, the name of the summit and critical information, like the dates and how to sign up.
- Collect the speaker information. Yes, you need more than their name and expertise. To ensure speakers know what is required of them and what they are promised in return for their time, there needs to be a signed contract. Other information to gather includes, a short biography, a head shot, and links to their websites or social media. Plus, speakers provide a free gift to all who register so you need the information on how to access it. Lastly, it is really helpful to have your speakers provide some questions they would like to be asked to ensure they touch on specific topics when you interview them.
- Organize your emails. Emails are crucial in communicating throughout your Summit. You need to send promo emails, daily emails, and post summit emails. To keep consistent there must be four components in each email. First, create an eye catching header for all your emails. Next, write to engage the audience and schedule them to send at the appropriate time to increase sign ups. Also, make sure all links are embedded (not just copied and pasted) and accurate so when people click on it they get directed exactly where you want them to.
- Ensure you have all programs integrated. Multiple programs need to work together. Your website needs to link to your email provider and your payment processing system. A summit is not just a website with a bunch of pages so people can learn from and enjoy your content. When someone signs up your email provider needs to be told to send out emails to these specific people. Also, if you are offering a purchase of lifetime access and people make that purchase your payment processing system needs to be linked so you receive the money and your email provider needs to send the customer information on how to obtain the product they bought.
With all these important details running smoothly your summit should go without a hitch yet those Internet demons sometimes sneak in and cause technical issues so it is necessary to monitor items regularly and be able to research and problem solve quickly.
When launching a Summit having steps to refer back to and knowledge to support your processes will help everything run smoothly and boost your confidence in your work.
